Bolton: ‘Big present’ Trump says US got from Iran likely a tanker filled with oil

Former national security adviser John Bolton on Wednesday said the “big present” President Trump received from Iran was likely a tanker filled with oil.

“I think I’ve speculated about this before and it’s still speculation, but I think it is a tanker loaded with Iranian oil that they let out. And the reason Trump thinks it’s a present is because he thinks it’ll have some downward pressure on global oil prices,” Bolton said during a Wednesday appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”

“If it does, I don’t know the size of the tanker, but it’s cents on the gallon in terms of price at the pump,” Bolton added.

He applauded Trump for striking Iran but has urged the president to outline clear objectives for the war and its timeline amid an energy crisis.

Bolton also questioned the strings attached to the tanker Trump received from Iran.  

“What we don’t know about that tanker or the other shipments of Iranian oil that the Treasury Department has lifted sanctions on is whether the purchasers of that oil are going to reimburse the government of Iran, meaning financing Iran in its efforts to kill our service members,” he told Burman.

His comments follow reports that some people have paid up to $2.2 million for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The chokepoint is the single connection between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. 

It carries up to a fifth of the world’s oil transports per day. The strait’s closure is driving up gas and fuel prices globally, as ships risk attacks from Iran if they attempt to pass through.

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